Questions & Answers about Mój kot śpi pod stołem.
Why is there no article like the or a in Mój kot śpi pod stołem?
Polish has no direct equivalents of English articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is shown by context, word order, or modifiers (like mój “my”). So Mój kot can mean “my cat” (definite by possession) and Kot śpi pod stołem can mean either “a cat sleeps under the table” or “the cat sleeps under the table,” depending on context.
Why is kot not changed to kota or another form?
Kot is the subject of the sentence, so it stands in the nominative case. Kota is the genitive or accusative singular form of kot, used after certain prepositions or verbs, or to express possession (e.g. szukam kota – “I’m looking for the cat”). Here, because it’s the doer of śpi (sleeps), it remains nominative.
Why is stołem used instead of stół or stoły?
After the preposition pod indicating static location (where something is), Polish uses the instrumental case. The instrumental singular of stół (table) is stołem.
- Nominative (subject): stół
- Genitive: stołu
- Dative: stołowi
- Accusative: stół
- Instrumental: stołem
- Locative: stole
How does the preposition pod decide which case to take?